Waking up early on Saturday or Sunday to watch soccer really isn’t the worst thing in the world. I’m the kinda guy who wakes up early no matter what happened the night before anyway. It is useful for something, I guess. The worst thing about being a European soccer fan is the midweek games that are in the middle of the work day, when everyone at work tends to schedule meetings. And even USMNT have started doing this too! I get why the English don’t care about American fans but our own national team? What is up with that?

Office Appropriate Goal Celebration

Chelsea and Liverpool fans got to experience a midweek game this week and Arsenal get to play on Monday two weeks in a row. Two… Weeks… in a row. So that means that I have surreptitiously listen to the game on Arsenal radio at work. Yelling “Gooooooooooaaaaaaaallllll” in the middle of the office and jumping up & down will surely be noticed and frowned upon. Subdued fist clench and a “yes” is the most I can get away with. And I didn’t grow up listening to soccer on the radio so it has zero nostalgia factor. Growing up my dad would talk about listening to Cubs games on the radio. I’m sorry, that sounds terrible. I can vaguely visualize what’s going on but it’s terribly frustrating.

This weekend shouldn’t be too bad, though. Kentucky Derby (Derby sidenote – one of the favorite horses to win is named after a certain yellow and black club from Germany. I don’t know if he’ll win or come in second like Dortmund’s cup form or 8th like their Bundesliga form… So maybe don’t make your bets based on that.), cheering on Spurs against City, Game of Thrones has another episode…

weather looks like it will be nice…

eh…

grasping at straws here.

I understand the Champions League being midweek. That’s the only time that can happen and I’ve tried to figure out how to make that work. But the EPL? And to make it worse, next season there will be Friday evening games. Which is cool, I guess. Football every day. But 2:45 in the afternoon is quite an inopportune time for the fan.

Money wins. TV broadcasters want to broadcast more matches so that means more days of soccer which means more inconvenience for the fans. To make it worse, I have zero ability to watch a game that has already ended. I need to know the score. I have set up a communications blackout before. No phone, no twitter, no internet but it just hasn’t been successful. I always give in to my need to know.

Without soccer the weekend seems kinda empty. Just a early reminder of what the summer is gonna be like. I mean we have the MLS, Gold Cup, and Women’s World Cup but my team won’t be playing. I’ve planned my conversion to American soccer for this summer. It’s gonna be Crew SC, Cincy Saints, and USMNT & USWNT every weekend instead. Let’s hope it sticks.